Cole Rogers
Cole Rogers is majoring in mechanical engineering at Oklahoma State University. He is also pursuing a minor in applied music with a focus on vocal performance. He grew up in Muskogee Oklahoma where he first discovered his love for music through his middle school's choir program, and went on to join the select choir program during his high school years. At the beginning of his senior year in high school, his love for singing transformed into a passion of all things musical when he began taking voice lessons from renowned mezzo soprano Barbara McAlister. He is continuing his musical training at OSU with Dr. Christian Bester. He is OSU's concert chorale and also their opera program. Cole has performed as Frederic from Pirates of Penzance with the Tulsa theatre company Cantabo! Children's Musical Theater. He has also performed in two of Barbara McAlister's voice recitals, having sung "Gern hab' ich die Frau'n geküsst," from Paganini, "O Sole Mio," by Eduardo di Capua, and "Per la Gloria D'adorarvi," from Griselda. For the fall of 2024, he will be playing Frederic from Pirates of Penzance in the songs "Climbing Over The Rocky Mountain," "Oh Is There Not One Maiden Breast," and "Poor Wandering One". He will be playing Tamino from Die Zauberflöte in the song "Zu Hilfe, Zu Hilfe", and he will be playing Von Asterberg from The Student Prince in the song "Drink! Drink! Drink!" Cole would like to thank his family for supporting him through the beginning of his musical pursuits, and the Plimpton Foundation for recognizing and honoring him as a co-winner of the 2024 Timothy Long Prize.